Legislature passes bill to give nonviable birth certificates to mothers who lost a pregnancy

On Tuesday, the Alabama Legislature passed bipartisan legislation allowing mothers whose preborn child was lost due to miscarriage to apply for and receive a state-issued birth certificate for that child whose life ended prematurely.

House Bill 55 (HB55) is sponsored by State Representative Juandalynn Givan.

Givan explained in committee that she was asked to carry this legislation by a woman she met at a town hall, who had lost her child, Genesis, to miscarriage. Givan agreed to carry the bill after other mothers approached her with similar stories.

Givhan explained to the House Health Committee that she has spoken with State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris and that he has agreed for the Department of Public Health to prepare the nonviable birth certificates.

Givan explained that the Department already provides these but only for pregnancies lost at 20 weeks or later. HB55 extends that to earlier pregnancies.

Rep. Givan explained that Florida was the first state to pass this legislation. Since then, other states have followed. Givan explained that mothers who have lost a child, even in the womb, feel a great sense of loss that deeply affects them.

The legislation received favorable recommendations from both the House and Senate Health Committees.

The Senate passed the legislation 33 to 0 on Tuesday. The legislation has already passed the House of Representatives. It now goes to the Governor for her consideration.

According to the synopsis, “Under existing law, a nonviable birth that occurs before the twentieth week of gestation is not reported to the Office of Vital Statistics, and a parent of a nonviable birth that occurs before the twentieth week of gestation may not request a certificate of birth. Also, under existing law, a parent of a fetal death occurring after 20 weeks of gestation may request a Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth. This bill would create the Genesis Act to require the Alabama Department of Public Health to adopt rules allowing for the parents of a nonviable birth occurring before the twentieth week of gestation to request a Certificate of Nonviable Birth.”

HB55 now goes to Governor Kay Ivey’s desk for her consideration.

Wednesday will be Day 17 of the 2023 Alabama regular session.

To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.